One of the Primary 7 classes last year set their minds on raising funds to purchase a defibrillator. They have successfully managed to raise funds to purchase two defibrillators, one for the school and one for a café in Quartermile, Edinburgh.
One defibrillator has now been installed in the school Refectory, which is normally a hub of activity during the day and will be a vitally important piece of equipment to have on campus.
Four of the current S1 pupils were joined by Mr Morrison, Head of the Junior School and Olivia, Manager at Soderberg, as they were presented with an appreciation award by St John’s volunteers.
Lynn Cleal, St John’s Volunteer who runs the St John and the City Defibrillator Project said:
“Lily and Isla were amazing last year busking in the Meadows to raise funds for a Public Access Defibrillator for the community through the St John and the City Defibrillator Project. After only two weekends they had raised enough and reached their goal, and through their hard work were able to install a Public Access Defibrillator at the tennis courts in the park.
It was great to see them be so inspired by what they had managed to do that they taught their classmates all about cardiac arrest, CPR and defibrillators. This led to the class raising enough money not only for a defibrillator for their school, but a second one to go out in the local community.
Words are not enough to praise and thank these young people for all they have done. Everyone at St John Scotland is so proud of the George Heriot’s P7R 2019-2020 pupils and the effort they have put in to fundraising for these essential devices. It’s fantastic that through this project they have also learned about, and raised awareness of, cardiac arrest and how CPR and defibrillators can save lives.
We also want to say a big thank you to Soderberg for agreeing to host the second defibrillator within their premises, which now is available for anyone who may need it.”
- The ‘St John and the City’ project is run by volunteers from charity St John Scotland, and has helped install more than 150 Public Access Defibrillators across Edinburgh since it began in 2015.
- The devices have been placed everywhere from the trams to Edinburgh Castle, the Scott Monument to Summerhall, and dozens of other community venues across the city.
- The project works by pairing Donors – which can be individuals, community groups, or businesses of all sizes – with Host venues across the city.
- Around 70 people have a cardiac arrest each week in Scotland; the region within Edinburgh city bypass sees around 350 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests every year.
- Cardiac arrest can affect people of all ages and levels of fitness, sometimes with no prior warning or symptoms. It is most commonly caused by a problem with electrical signals in the heart, which causes it to stop pumping blood around the body, starving the brain of oxygen.
- Acting quickly to save a life is vital – for every minute that passes without action, survival drops by 10%. To be most effective, a defibrillator needs to be used within the first few minutes of collapse, which is why it’s so important to have them regularly available across the city.
- The defibrillators installed through the St John and the City Defibrillator Project are all easy to use, automated units which can be used by any member of the public in an emergency, with no prior training required.
- As part of St John Scotland’s drive to improve survival rates from cardiac arrest across Edinburgh and the country as a whole, St John Scotland volunteers also offer free CPR training to all organisations involved in the St John and the City project, with more than 2,000 people being trained so far.
Definitely distributing chearfullie – well done to you all!
